The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 17 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 1 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Hyper-fast crypto fundraising rounds force VCs to skip technical due diligence
“Yeah, I think what it does is it forces venture capitalists to make decisions that aren't entirely informed. So if you actually read a white paper it's basically 30 pages of really technical information that requires diligence, which you couldn't possibly do i…”
$60M seed valuation caps put undue pressure on teams and degrade product
“When you see projects raising at 60 caps in seed rounds, it starts to make you question what's going on, and what it does in terms of the employees is it puts, I think, a lot of undue pressure on individual employees to ship products faster than they probably …”
Founders should treat investor product advice as just another data point
“The one thing founders must know is that investors advice is another data point. So you have all these data points to consider when you're building products and really you shouldn't give it any extra weight because it comes from an investor.”
Today's dominant mobile apps will be replaced within 5 to 10 years
“So if you click your phone and assume the applications that we use today will be used in five years or 10 years, I would think that you're just wrong.”
Morris: Founders should be transparent about who else is investing in their round
“And so if you know an investor is actually interested in your company and is talking to you for the right reasons, being asked the question, who else is investing your round? I think it's a totally fair question. And on the investor side, like you really want …”
Angel investors require more conviction to be contrarian than institutional VCs
“As an angel investor, it's a lot more risky because it's your own money, and if you make a bad bet, that's money you'll never see again, and you know, most of us aren't making management fees, and we're kind of getting by the returns that we make for ourselves…”
Jeff Morris Jr.: Angels cannot afford to be overly price sensitive
“I think for an angel looking at companies, you can't be too price sensitive because really the opportunities are fewer and harder to find. So when I see a dealer company that I love, I'm normally not as price sensitive just because I want to get in business wi…”
Morris: Needing to be in Silicon Valley to build a startup is a lie
“I think the advice that you need to be in Silicon Valley to build a company is a complete lie.”
Jeff Morris Jr.: Product managers should apply portfolio theory to decisions
“And one piece that I'd like to add to that list is, is portfolio theory. So I think every product manager should have some sense of the portfolio of products they want to build and really apply an investor's mindset to making those decisions.”
Jeff Morris Jr.: Operator-investors can only compete with VCs through extreme focus
“So rather than being kind of a generalist, the only way I can have any edge in terms of competing with other venture capitalists is if I really go deep on one or two topics.”
Morris: Top product leaders and VCs possess deep software history knowledge
“The best product people I know have this really unique view on kind of Silicon Valley history, or more generally just software history.”
Jeff Morris Jr.: Market timing in venture capital is a fool's game
“Anyone who claims to know how to time markets, I think is crazy or just a little bit too self-confident. So I don't try to time markets. I do try and just back the best possible entrepreneurs in a given space.”
Mobile apps with proprietary IP and subscriptions are tech's best business model
“So I'm always looking for mobile products where you own the IP and you can sell other subscriptions or an app purchases. I think it's just the best business model ever. Tough to find, but once you find it, it's kind of the gift that keeps on giving.”
Jeff Morris Jr.: First-time founders need 24+ months of runway
“But if it's a first-time entrepreneur, I do want to see 24 plus months just to give me the assurance that they have time to build their product before they start raising money again.”
Jeff Morris Jr.: True contrarianism stems from deep expertise, not posturing
“Really what it means to me is you just wanted to become an expert, and you're so obsessed with some topic that you decided to learn more about it than everyone else, and that's really what it comes down to. I think everyone wants to claim they're contrarian, b…”
Jeff Morris Jr.: Founders consistently underestimate customer willingness to pay
“You can always charge a little more than you think customers are willing to pay. And I saw Adam Draper mentioned, you can charge four X the amount that you think customers are willing to pay. I think that's probably a little bit high, but I do think we underes…”